(Fremont County, WY) – The 2024 Primary Election results were made official today, August 22, at the Fremont County Courthouse in Lander.
County Clerk Julie Freese conducted the proceedings, with Patrick Lawson representing the Democratic Party and Tara Berg Representing the Republican Party.
There were no changes from the Unofficial results linked above, and the official results can be viewed here.
Freese informed that before the results were announced today, the poll books, tally sheets, vote center balance sheets, provisional ballots and potential needs for recounts were examined.
It was determined that no automatic recounts were identified, therefore none were performed.
Freese then explained the recount threshold thusly:
“The difference between the winning candidate receiving the least number of votes and the number of votes cast for the losing candidate receiving the greatest number of votes is less than one percent of the number of votes cast for the winning candidate receiving the least number of votes cast for that office. Example: Candidate 1 hadd 100 votes, Candidate 2 had 85 votes, Candidate 3 had 78 votes. You take 85-78=7. Multiply 7 by 1%, which is .85 or 1 vote – no automatic recount in this scenario.”
There was one provisional ballot this year, for a voter who did not have their ID at the polls. That person was given a deadline to provide their identification, which they did in the given timeframe.
The canvass board then determined the ballot would be added to the results, and it was approved after an executive session.
The results were then reviewed/determined for the local races (the State will determine the results of the state and national offices at their canvass on August 28), with three races having enough write-ins to warrant further review; Lander Ward 3, Dubois Council and Shoshoni Council.
For Lander Ward 3, Melinda Cox received 74.83% of the votes uncontested, and two write-ins received three votes a piece (Municipal votes require a minimum of three votes), for Michael Wilmer and Philip Strong.
A tie-breaker decision was made between the two, as per W.S. 22-16-105, which states that “a tie vote shall be decided at an open meeting by lots cast by the county canvassing board or other authority holding the election,” where it was determined that Philip Strong would be moving forward.
(“Each write-in candidate nominated at a primary election, who has not previously filed an application for nomination shall accept nomination by filing an application for nomination and paying the filing fee in the office in which he would have been required to file an application for nomination to that office,” as stated in the statute linked above.)
As for the Dubois Council, Gretchen Mack, who received 11.35% of the votes, withdrew, and now write-in Randy Lahr will move forward with Rick Lee if he chooses to do so.
The Shoshoni Council will ultimately be a vote for two candidates, with the option of four candidates moving forward, so in addition to Mark Nordeen, Jordan Whitener and Bob Zent, the fourth candidate will be write-in Freddie Ellis if they choose to accept.
The results were then certified and the Post-Election Audit was conducted. The audit process/results meeting set for tomorrow, Aug. 23 at 10 AM will still take place, and just like today’s meeting, attendees are not permitted to view the ballot images and cast vote records at/during the audit.
The official results can be viewed here. Any questions about the results/audit can be sent to elections@fremontcountywy.gov, or you can call (307) 332-1088.